Basketball
by the bean25
Summary: Playing basketball and falling in love.


Summary: Playing Basketball and falling in Love.

Disclaimer: I don't own any CSI: NY characters, but the other original characters are mine. There are parts that can be left up to the imagination.

Danny and Don walked from Don's car to Rucker Park. It was their afternoon off, and their time to play basketball. They walked over to the court they usually played at. There was a young kid playing against a girl a little older than him. They stood by the bleachers watching them play. There was another guy sitting in the front row of the bleachers with a young boy. They heard him yell out and ask the girl what the score was.

"Nine to eight. I'm winning," she yelled back.

The guy had the ball. The girl was blocking him; she was doing well to keep up with the kid.

"Twenty says she beats him," Don said to Danny.

"I'll take that bet," Danny replied and shook Don's hand.

They watched as the kid finally got past her and made a basket. The score was even now. The girl had the ball now. The guy had at least four inches and 15 or 20 pounds on her. The odds didn't look good, but the girl was smaller and fast. She ducked under his arm and did a lay-up to the basket.

She did a short celebratory dance. "Sorry, Lebron, better luck next time." She rubbed the younger boy's hair.

They walked over to the bleachers and got some water. Danny handed Don a twenty dollar bill. Then they walked over to the two now sitting down.

"Hey, you guys were pretty good out there," Don said and the girl lifted her head.

"Thanks, trying to get him ready for basketball season."

"That's a while away isn't it?"

She stood up. "Yeah, but this is his first year trying for varsity, so we're getting ready early."

"I'm Don, by the way, and this is Danny." He pointed to his friend.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Sarah and this is my brother Mike." She flashed him a smile.

"Would you guys wanna play a two-on-two?"

"You know, maybe next time. We need to get home. Mike's got homework to do. But it was nice meeting you guys." Sarah picked up her bag and Mike stood. They walked away from the bleachers and away from the court.

Don and Danny played a couple of one-on-one games. Danny beat Don the first one and Don beat Danny the second game. They had to play a third to keep it from being tied. Don won again. Danny's pride didn't let him take the defeat well. Don just laughed at him.

"Hey, so that girl we met was pretty cute, huh?" Danny asked as they sat on the bleachers drinking water and wipe the sweat from their faces.

"Yeah, she was." Don replied.

"But she seemed like she didn't want anything to do with you."

"Gee, Messer, thanks."

"Hey, I just tell it like I see it."

"Well, we'll see what happens." Don flashed Danny a smile.

A couple days later Don and Danny walked up to the same court. Sarah and Mike weren't there so the guys started to shoot around giving them a few minutes to see if they would show. After ten minutes Mike and Sarah walked over to the court. They set their stuff on the bleachers as Don walked over to them.

"Hey, how about that two-on-two?" he inquired.

"Let's do it," Mike replied. He and Sarah followed Don onto the court. "Alright, Sarah you got Don, I got Danny."

"Hey, hey, why do I get the guy that's way taller than me?" Sarah asked.

"You can block your brother who's taller and bigger than you. Don't be scared I'll go easy," Don replied and smiled.

She leaned down in front of him. "Fine, let's see what you got."

Through the game when Sarah had the ball she gave Don a run for his money. Mike was giving Danny a run for his money too. Finally, Mike made the winning shot.

Sarah and Mike high-fived and congratulated each other. Danny and Don hung their heads in shame for losing.

Sarah put her hand on Don's shoulder. "Don't take it so hard. You guys played a good game." She smiled up at him.

They all made their way to where their bottles of water were sitting on the bench. Sarah sat down.

"So, you guys wanna go grab a slice or something? Celebrate your victory and our defeat." Danny asked and laughed.

"Yeah, sounds good to me." Mike spoke up.

"There's a place just up the road. You up for it Sarah?" Don asked.

"Actually I have some stuff I need to do at home, but you guys go and have a slice for me." She answered and stood picking up her stuff.

"What stuff? You don't have anything to do." Mike inquired.

"Yes, I do. Or maybe I just want to take advantage of you being out of the house so I can have a night alone." She looked at Don and Danny. "Thanks for the invite guys, but I'll have to take a rain check. Have a slice for me, ok?" She started to walk away from the guys, and then stopped and looked back at them. "Curfew's at eleven."

"Eleven, how old are you?" Danny inquired.

"Seventeen," Mike replied.

"Man, my curfew was ten when I was your age."

"Yeah, but you were a bad kid." Don stated as they walked to the subway.

"Yeah, true. So, is it just you and your sister?"

"Yeah, my dad left before I was born and our mom died a couple years ago in Chicago, so I moved here to live with Sarah." Mike answered.

"Do you like living with your sister?"

"Yeah, she's cool. She's pretty lenient about stuff."

They walked into the pizza parlor. The place was pretty crowded, but they eventually found a small table in the back. They ordered a couple pizzas and talked as they waited. Mike started to ask them about what it was like being detectives.

"What's the weirdest thing you've ever seen?" Mike inquired,

"Eh, I don't think you really wanna know when you're gonna eat," Danny answered and took a sip of his beer.

"Come on."

"Alright, I got one," Don spoke up. "The one when that girl got sawed in half was pretty weird."

"Yeah, it was. Or the one with the sorority girl found with her head cut-"

"Ok, I'm sorry I asked." Mike took a drink of his coke and looked away.

Their pizzas finally came a few minutes later. The guys talked about a lot of different subjects over their food.

As they left the pizza place Danny got a call and said he would see the other two later. Don and Mike walked a couple blocks to Mike and Sarah's apartment. When they got to the building Don followed Mike inside and to the elevator.

"Hey, what time is it?" Mike asked.

"It's still early, you're good."

The doors opened and they got off the elevator. Mike remembered he didn't have his keys so he knocked on the door to their apartment. Sarah opened the door a minute later.

"Oh, hey. I forgot you didn't have your keys." She said when she opened the door.

Mike walked inside and Don hesitated then followed him in. Sarah closed the door behind him. Don looked at her outfit, a pair of cropped sweatpants and a tank top. Mike said thank you to Don then started to his room.

"Hey, wait, Mike, a girl called for you."

"What girl?"

"Uh, it started with an E. I met her before."

"Was it Erica?"

"Yeah, that's who it was."

"Really? She called here for me? Did she leave a number or anything?"

"No, she just asked for you and I told her you weren't here then she just said ok and that she would talk to you later."

"I gotta get her number from somebody and call her back."

"Hey, wait," Don spoke up.

"What?" Mike asked.

"Just let her get back to you-"

Sarah stopped him. "No, no, girls like it when the guy does the work. So, that's why you don't have a girlfriend?" She laughed and Don shot her a hurt look.

"Ok, so what do I do then?" Mike was standing in the hallway.

"Do what your sister says." Don replied keeping his eyes on Sarah.

"Ok." Mike went into his room.

"How could you tell I don't have a girlfriend?" Don asked as he followed Sarah to the living room. He sat down next to her on the couch.

"Oh, I have a sixth sense about these things. Besides it's Friday night, if you had a girlfriend you'd be with her instead of hanging out with a seventeen year-old kid."

"Alright you got me. So, you just didn't want to hang out with the guys tonight, or what?"

"I really did have stuff to do," she got up from the couch and went to the table. She handed a book to Don. "I'm a book editor. That one has to be done by Monday."

Don read the summary inside the cover. "Sounds interesting, is it?"

"Uh, it's alright. I just edit, I don't critique, which is probably good." Don handed the book back to her. "So, what do you do?"

"I'm a detective, homicide."

"Interesting. I'm sure Mike thought that was pretty cool."

Don smirked. "Yeah he started to ask us about weird cases and he got a little grossed out."

"He's funny."

"Yeah, he's a good kid. Oh, and maybe you should know he seems pretty head over heels for that Erica girl."

"Yeah?"

"He talked about her a lot."

They talked for a little while longer then Don got a call and told Sarah he needed to leave. When they got to the door he stopped and looked at her. "Do you maybe wanna go to dinner some time?"

"Uh, I don't know."

"Just dinner that's it."

She hesitated; Don was nervous he was going to get rejected. "Ok."

"Tomorrow night. I know a nice Italian place close by. I'll pick you up at seven. Dress nice ok." He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "Goodnight." He smiled at her and left the apartment.

The next night Don was at the lab with Lindsay and Stella. He checked his watch for the third time in five minutes.

"Got somewhere to be?" Stella asked Don.

"Yeah, I gotta date pretty soon. Is there any way you guys can handle this without me?"

"Yeah, we got it. Go ahead and go."

Don left the lab and got on the subway to Sarah's apartment. He walked to the building and went inside. He knocked on the apartment door, and Mike opened it.

"Hey, Mike is she ready?" Don inquired as he walked inside.

"No, she's still primping I guess. Hey, just so you know if you break her heart I'll have to hurt you."

"Mike, it's just dinner."

"I know, but-"

"Ready?" Sarah asked as she walked up to them. Don looked at her and smiled. She was wearing a black strapless dress and heels. "What? Just because I play basketball means I can't look good in a dress?"

Mike laughed, but Don answered. "No, no you look good."

"Thank you," she grabbed her keys from the foyer table. "Mike, there's leftovers in the fridge."

"I'll be fine don't worry about me. Have fun."

Don and Sarah left the apartment. When they got to the street Don got them a cab. One stopped at the curb and Don opened the door for Sarah.

"Oh, what a gentleman," Sarah smiled at him.

Don told the driver where to go. He looked at Sarah as she was looking out the window. He admired her long light brown hair and the way it fell on her neck and shoulders. She turned and looked at him.

"What?" she asked and smiled.

"Nothin' just looking. You do look really beautiful tonight."

"Thank you." Don turned back to the window and rubbed the back of his head. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired." He smiled at her then let his hand find hers. She looked down at his hand on hers. He pulled it away. "Sorry."

"No, it's ok." She let her fingers intertwine with his again.

When they got to the restaurant the hostess led them to a table by the window. The restaurant was full of other couples. The setting was romantic. Don was hoping that it wasn't too much for a first date, but he liked Sarah and wanted to make a good impression. Throughout dinner they kept up their conversations, talking about a wide variety of things.

Don asked Sarah about her mom, and what had happened to her. "She was in a car accident in Chicago. Mike was with her in the car. They were hit by a drunk driver."

"Was Mike hurt?"

"Yeah, he broke his arm, leg, and he knocked his head against the window pretty good. He was really upset after the accident. For a long time he kept saying how he was mad that mom had died and he had lived. I spent almost a week with him in the hospital."

"Did they get the guy who hit them?"

"He left the scene, and they never found him. Another thing my brother was really upset about. And then he had to pack up his stuff and move all the way here. It was really hard on him."

"What about you?"

"I guess I had to be tough for him. I had my moments, but I needed to be there for him."

"So, what about your dad?"

She smirked. "My mom was, I guess, unable to keep one man for a long time. Mike and I don't have the same dad. We're the only two kids, though she wasn't the kind to have a lot. But she did attract the ones that didn't want kids. My dad left when I was about three, and Mike's dad left before he was born."

"How did you end up here?" he asked then took a sip of wine.

"I left when I was eighteen. I came here to go to Columbia, and I decided to stay when I was done. I never really liked Chicago. Ok, can we talk about you now? I'm boring."

"No, you're not."

It was after ten by the time they left the restaurant. There weren't very many people left in the dining room.

When they walked outside there was a slight chill in the air. Sarah shivered and Don offered her his jacket. She accepted and they walked a little way before getting a cab back to Sarah's.

As they sat in the backseat Sarah looked over at Don. "Hey, I'm not ready to go home yet. Do you want to go somewhere?"

"Yeah, I know a place." He gave an address to the cab driver.

The car finally stopped and they got out of the car. He held onto her hand as they walked toward the water. They sat down on a bench and looked out at the Hudson River and across to New Jersey.

"Wow," Sarah said.

"You've never been out here before."

"Yeah, I have but this seems different." She looked at him. "It seems more romantic."

When they got back to Sarah's apartment she unlocked the door but hesitated before she went inside. She turned and looked at him. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek and they both said goodnight.

"Oh, hey tomorrow we play basketball, usually in the afternoon. You're welcome to join us if you want," Sarah said to Don who had stopped in the middle of the hallway.

"Maybe, I was working on a case that I'll probably have to finish tomorrow. So, I'll try."

"Ok, I hope you can come."

Don's phone rang as he left the building. It was Stella telling him they needed him to come in. They had found a lead in their case and she needed Don to help her locate him and bring him in.

He was tired and did not want to go back to work. He got on the train and headed back to his precinct. When he got to the lab he met up with Stella and she briefed him on the information she had on their suspect. They left the lab and headed to the address of their suspect. There was a car of uniform officers following them.

"Where's your jacket?" Stella asked.

Don looked at himself. "Oh, I lent it to someone."

"You are such a gentleman. I wanna hear all about it after we get this guy."

Their suspect wasn't in the apartment when they went inside. There were a few things to imply that he had fled to get away from the police. Stella took some evidence from the apartment and pictures as well. Don talked to a few of the other tenants to see what they knew about their suspect.

After about a half an hour they were done and they went back to the car. Don told a couple of the uniform officers to stay at the building in case the man came back home.

"Alright," Stella started. "Tell me about the girl."

"I met her a few days ago when Danny and I went to play basketball. She was there with her brother. She's a good ball player."

"Yeah, yeah. How did the date go?"

"It was nice. We went to a nice Italian restaurant. Then we sat by the Hudson then I took her home."

"You are a hopeless romantic I knew it." She laughed.

"Yeah, alright." He said embarrassed by the conversation.

The next day Don was deeply involved in the case he and Stella had been working. They hadn't slept all night. It was close to two in the afternoon by the time they found their suspect and got a confession. Now Don had loads of paperwork to do. He knew he was going to disappoint Sarah by not being able to play basketball with her and Mike.

When he finished his paperwork he left the precinct and drove home. He needed to sleep; it was close to thirty six hours since the last time he had slept. But he wanted to see Sarah, and try to make it up to her for not being there to play basketball.

Mike opened the door of the apartment after Don had knocked. There was music playing inside.

"Hey, Mike, is Sarah here?"

"She just left to go for a run."

"After you guys just played basketball?"

"She didn't play she just watched while I played with some other guys from school."

"Where does she run?"

"Uh, usually down 155th to Broadway down to 145th and back up St. Nicholas. You gonna go try to find her?"

"I'm thinkin' about it. I'll see you later, alright?"

"Yeah, see ya."

Don drove along the route Mike had told him Sarah would be running down. The sidewalks were kind of crowded, and he was wondering how she was able to run with all those people. He got to the intersection of 155th and Broadway. Sarah was standing on the corner waiting for the light to change. Don rolled down the window, and then saw Sarah was wearing headphones and knew if he yelled out to her that she wouldn't hear him. He kept driving once the light changed.

Don tried over the next couple days to get a hold of Sarah. When he tried her at home he either had just missed her or got no one home at all. He was hoping that she wasn't really upset about him not being able to play basketball with her.

Finally, Tuesday evening as he was driving to meet Danny he tried again. Sarah picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey, I've been trying to reach you." Don answered.

"Really? I didn't get any messages." She paused. "Did you tell Mike to tell me you called? He's terrible at giving messages. I need to give you my cell number."

Don let out a grunted laugh. "Man, I thought you were avoiding me. I'm glad I was wrong."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm really not that superficial to get all bent out of shape about you not coming to play basketball with us."

"I just wanted to apologize for not coming that day. I tried to find you when you were on your run and I did but I didn't want to try to yell at you when I saw you had your headphones on."

"Oh yeah I can't just listen to street noises it's annoying. So what are you doing now?"

"I'm on my way to meet Danny for a drink. Hey, you wanna join us?"

The other end was silent for a second. "You know that kind of sounds like fun."

Don told her where then they said their goodbyes. Don got to the place and went inside. He made his way up to the bar and yelled out his order then sat down next to Danny.

"How's it going?" Danny said as Don's beer was set in front of him.

"Good. Sarah's coming, is that cool?"

"Yeah, Lindsay's trying to finish up her case so she can get over here too."

They picked up their drinks and made their way over to a pool table. A couple minutes later Sarah came up to them. She kissed Don on the cheek and said hello to Danny. She got a pool stick and joined the game. They were involved in a game of "cut throat," when Lindsay walked up. Danny introduced Sarah to her and Lindsay watched as Sarah beat the guys.

"Is there anything you aren't good at?" Danny asked as she celebrated her victory.

"Yeah, I'm not so good at hockey or football or baseball. I played pool a lot in college. There was a table in the basement of my dorm. Good memories right there." She laughed. She saw Don open his mouth to speak. "No, we are not gonna go there."

They all laughed. "Fine, keep your secrets." Don said as he got closer to her. "I'll get it out of you sometime."

Sarah and Lindsay decided to be on a team together so that they could beat the boys. They did beat them the first game then the guys won the second. And they won the third. The girls were disappointed and sad. The guys tried their best not to gloat but couldn't help themselves.

Don took Sarah back to her apartment. When they got inside Sarah went to the kitchen to make them some coffee. Don went to the kitchen as well. He came up behind her as she was pouring the grounds into the filter basket.

"I don't really want coffee." He whispered into her ear and put his hand on hers.

She turned around and looked into his eyes. "I don't either." He wanted to kiss her so bad he could taste it. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed her lips against his. Her tongue pushed its way into his mouth and found his. His arms were wrapped around her waist and his hand was making its way up her back. He let his right hand go under her arm and he lifted her onto the counter. She was kissing his neck. She twitched when he kissed hers.

"What was that?" Don asked.

"I'm ticklish."

"Are we gonna do this here?"

"Well we're not stoppin' that's for sure."

He moved back so she could hop off the counter. He held onto her hand as she led him down the hallway. She glanced at the door to Mike's room. It was late and she was praying that he would be asleep. When they walked into her room they resumed their kissing.

When they were finished they were lying next to each other and were breathing heavy. Sarah looked at him and let out a giggled.

"What?" he asked and looked over at her.

"Your face. First time you've had sex in a while there detective."

"Yeah, well at least good sex."

"Good? That's all I get is a good."

He rolled over onto his side to face her. "No, I take that back. That was great sex." He smiled and kissed her.

"That's better," she said as they parted.

They slept in each other's arms. Don's phone rang pulling them both from sleep. Sarah looked at the clock it was about 5 a.m.

"Yeah, this is Flack," Don answered the call. He listened then replied, "alright, I'll be there in a bit." He ended the call then sat on the edge of the bed. Sarah sat up behind him and wrapped her arms under his.

"Do you have to go?" she asked with her chin on his shoulder.

"Yeah," he said and got up from the bed. He pulled on his clothes then bent down and kissed her.

"I'll walk you out," she got up and put on her robe that was on the back of the bedroom door.

She kissed him again when they got to the door and they said their goodbyes.

Almost a month later Don was sitting on the edge of Sarah's bed watching her pack her suitcase.

"How long are you gonna be gone?" he inquired.

"Four days, not long." She was going to Chicago. Her biological father had just died and she was his only next of kin so she inherited his estate. "Can you keep an eye on Mike for me? I don't expect him to throw some wild party, but he's going out with that girl so I don't know something could happen."

"Yeah, I'll baby-sit." She looked at him. "I'm kidding. I'll just call him every once in a while, maybe stop by if I'm in the neighborhood. Maybe we'll go play ball or something."

She stopped what she was doing and stood in front of him. His left leg was in between hers. "I don't want you to go." He stated. She leaned down and kissed him.

"Trust me I don't want to go, but I have to." She sat down on his lap facing him and wrapped her arms around him.

Mike walked into the bedroom. "Oh, sorry," he apologized and left the room.

"Mike, come back," Sarah said as she stood up. He walked back into the room. "What's up?"

"Your cab's here." He stated.

"Ok, thanks." She picked up her bag and started out of the room, Don close behind her.

She hugged them both at the front door and said, "You guys take care of each other. Mike, if Don tells you to do something listen to him. I don't want a bad report when I get back." She walked out the door.

A couple days later Don was sitting in Sarah's living room watching the Jets game. He had decided to stay that night to keep Mike company then he found out Mike had a date. So now he was waiting for him to get home. Don heard the door open. He turned and saw Mike trying to escape his glance.

"Hey, so how was it?" Don asked.

Mike was all smiles as he came over to the couch and plopped down next to Don. "It was," he paused, "nice."

"That's it? It was nice?"

"It was awesome."

"That's better." Don gently elbowed Mike. "So, are you gonna go out again?"

"Oh, yeah. Next weekend. We'll see each other at school this week too."

"That's great man." Don patted him on the shoulder. He didn't know why, but he felt proud. They sat their together and watched the game.

The day Sarah came home was during the week. She had called Don and told her she was on her way home, but he told he had to work until six and then he would come over. Mike was at school.

Don came in the apartment a little after six. He walked into the kitchen. Sarah turned and looked at him. He pulled her close to him and squeezed her tight.

"I missed you." He said still holding her.

"I missed you too. It was only a few days."

"I know, but it was a few days too long."

"How did things go here?"

"Good, I stayed for a couple nights. Mike and I bonded, I think."

She smiled at him. "That's great. How did his date go?"

"He said it was awesome." He took the stack of plates she handed him, and she followed him to the dining room table. "There was something weird, though."

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked as she place silverware on the sides of the plates.

"Well, when he came home he was all smiling and stuff, and I didn't think it was strange until the next day when we were playing ball and he was asking me a lot of questions about my first time having sex. He asked me how old I was, and when, and where we did it."

"You don't think him and that girl…do you?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure. He didn't say. I asked him why he was asking all the questions and he wouldn't say."

"What do you think we should do?"

"We? How did I get pulled into this?"

"He talked to you about it besides you're a guy and he likes you; he'll listen to you." She was next to him now. "If you don't want to talk to him I will."

"What would you say? It's not like we're setting a good example." He bent his head down close to hers.

She pulled away. "This is serious. He's only seventeen." She saw his eyes go from side to side. "What were you seventeen?"

"Yeah, how old were you?"

"Eighteen. I was in college. Great, this is not gonna work."

"Ok, what if we just tell him to be careful, and that maybe he should wait until he's old enough to deal with the consequences."

"Could you talk to him?" Sarah asked in a sweet tone.

"You want me to talk to him? What if he throws it up in my face that I was the same age my first time?"

"Tell him you made a mistake and that he should do better, I don't know. Just think about it. Talk to him after dinner."

Sarah called Mike out to eat. All through dinner Don was trying to think of what he was going to say to Mike. Sarah and Mike were talking about what she had done on her trip and what head happened with him while she was gone. Don didn't know how to talk to a kid about not having sex; he didn't have any younger brothers, or cousins he was close to. God, he was nervous.

After dinner Mike and Don cleaned up the kitchen. Mike was washing the dishes as Don brought in the leftovers from the table. Don glanced in the living room; Sarah was sitting in the armchair reading. He went into the kitchen and stood next to Mike.

"Hey, uh, I got a question." Don started; Mike looked up at him from the dishes. "Why were you asking me all those questions the other day about when my first time was and everything? Did you and that girl have sex when you went out?"

"What?"

"Come on, Mike just tell me."

Mike smiled. "Yeah, we did."

"Are you ready for that? I mean the consequences and stuff. You're only seventeen."

"You were seventeen."

"Yeah, and I wasn't ready; I'll be the first to tell you that. Just consider what could happen. She could get pregnant, or you could get something, you know." He brought up STDs. _This is not going well,_ he thought.

"I really like her. I wore a condom. Are you saying I shouldn't do it again?"

"I'm just saying you have to think about it. Is it really that important? Having sex one time could change your life."

Mike looked down. "Yeah, I know."

"I'm just looking out for you man."

"Oh, I know. Thanks." Mike put his arm around Don's shoulders. "You better think about the consequences of having sex with my sister."

"What are you talking about?"

"Once you have sex with her you're stuck with her." Mike laughed.

"You're an idiot; don't talk about your sister like that." Don put his arm around Mike's neck and rubbed his hair with his fist. Don left the kitchen while Mike finished cleaning. He walked over to Sarah and she looked up at him.

"How did it go?" she asked as he sat on the arm of the couch.

"Good, I think I got through. Or at least I hope I did."

"Me, too." She put her hand on his arm.

"Hey, Don you wanna go play some ball?" Mike asked as he came into the living room.

"It's dark man."

"There are lights on the court."

"Alright," Don replied and leaned down to kiss Sarah. "We'll be back."

"You guys be careful; you never know what kind of hoodlums are on the streets this time of night."

A couple nights later Sarah was lying in bed when her phone rang. She rolled over and looked at the clock; it was close to one in the morning. She hated any "late night" call- every time she got one it was some kind of bad news. She pushed the talk button on the cordless.

"Hello?" she asked groggily.

"Hey," it was Don, he sounded upset.

"Hey, are you ok? It's late." She sat up.

"Yeah…well…I, uh."

"Don, what's going on?" She was worried now.

"I just had a bad day. I probably shouldn't have called. I'll just-"

"Wait, Don. Do you want me to come over?" Now she was sitting on the edge of her bed. Don was silent. "I'm coming over so we can talk."

"Alright."

Sarah hung up the phone, pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, and left the apartment. She scribbled down a note for Mike before she left in case he woke up before she got back.

Sarah knocked on Don's door, and when he opened it she walked right in. He was out of his usual suit and was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a "wife beater" tank top. They didn't say a word as they walked into the living room. Don sat down on the couch and Sarah sat next to him.

"Tell me what's wrong?" Sarah asked as she put her arm around his shoulders.

"We had a case last night. These two guys were playing paintball and the one got shot, but by a real gun. Well, to make a long story short the bullet came from a police-issued gun. And there was black cocaine also found at the scene," Don went on with his story all about how they had discovered Detective Truby as the shooter, and how he had lied about how much cocaine they had found. "So, I had to give Mac my notebook for the drug bust." He leaned his head back against the couch. "I feel like shit. All those rapists and drug dealers and murderers he put away and now they could get out because I gave Mac my notebook."

"None of this is your fault. You do know that, right?" Sarah put her hand on the side of Don's head and rubbed his hair.

"I know, but it just feels like it. If I didn't give Mac my notebook this wouldn't have happened. I gotta live with this now."

"Truby did what he did because he's a bad cop. There's nothing at all you can do about that. And if those people do get out of jails, that's on him, not you." Sarah pulled Don's face toward her. "Please don't beat yourself up about this." She smiled, forcing him to smile too.

"Thank you for coming over, by the way."

"Well, I love you and I'm here for you." Sarah kissed him.

"I love you, too." He replied, but his tone still showed that he was still unhappy about what had happened.

"You're not gonna be ok for a while, are you?"

"I'll try but I can't make any promises." He laid his head in her lap and closed his eyes. "I am glad you're here. I feel a little better talking to you about it."

Sarah leaned her head against the back of the couch and closed her eyes as well. She tapped Don on the head. "This isn't very comfortable can we go to bed?"

Don's eyes fluttered open. "I'm comfortable." He smiled at her.

She stuck out her bottom lip. "Please." This made him smile.

"Ok." He sat up then got up from the couch. He offered her is hand and she took it. He pulled her close to him and kissed her and wrapped his arms around her neck. She rubbed his arms with her hands.

"I have an idea," she smiled. "You got that little basketball hoop in you room, right?"

"Yeah..." he looked at her, confused.

"I'll play you."

"For what?" She smiled then started toward the bedroom. "For what?" he repeated chasing after her.

"If I make a basket you lose a piece of clothing and if you make a basket I lose a piece. Sound good?"

"Oh, yeah." He smiled then laughed at her as she took the foam ball from where it lay next to the bed.

Sarah stood in front of him crouched down with the ball in hand. He took the same position in front of her. They both smiled. Sarah went to the right as fast as she could and dunked the ball. Don took off his socks first. He got the ball and when he made his way around her he dunked the ball. Sarah took off her sweatshirt revealing a tank top underneath.

"This not gonna be very fair. You have way more clothes on then me."

"Well, you're just gonna have to play better then, won't you?"

Somehow Don ended up doing well and he made more baskets then Sarah. She was down to her bra and underwear and he had on his sweatpants with his boxers underneath. Sarah made a basket and Don took off his sweatpants.

"You do not even have Rangers' boxers on. What are you like twelve?"

"Come on these are cool." He replied pointing down at his boxers.

"I'm done." She was inches away from him. "I have to get you out of those boxers. They are just too ugly." She smiled and kissed him passionately. They made their way to the bed.

He was lying over top of her. "That was the best game of basketball ever." She laughed and he smiled at her.


End file.
